Luke Shaw was forced off late during Manchester United's home win against Brentford on Monday. The England international has been enjoying one of his most successful seasons in terms of fitness and availability.
Despite significant upheaval this season at Old Trafford, with Ruben Amorim being fired at the start of the year and Michael Carrick taking over, Shaw has remained a consistent presence. For the first time at United, Shaw was tracking toward featuring in every single Premier League game for the Reds.
He had already exceeded his previous best appearance record, which occurred in the 2020-21 season when he made 31 Premier League appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Nevertheless, Shaw may be facing another spell on the treatment table.
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As the home game with Brentford reached the final 17 minutes, Shaw collapsed onto the turf, causing a member of United's medical staff to rush onto the field and evaluate the England international. The nature of the injury remains unknown, but it will be a concerning development for Carrick and England manager Thomas Tuchel, as per the Manchester Evening News.
The German coach would have almost certainly been considering Shaw as one of his left-backs for this summer's FIFA World Cup. It remains too soon to tell whether Shaw might ultimately be sidelined for the remainder of this season, much less the tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
Shaw was able to walk off the pitch unaided as he was replaced by Leny Yoro, who has himself recently returned from injury. Simultaneously, Carrick also withdrew Bryan Mbeumo and introduced Mason Mount into the game.
Carrick, his United squad and the club's supporters will all be hoping that Shaw's injury was merely precautionary rather than anything more serious. The team is currently short of left-footed central defenders, with Lisandro Martinez also set to be suspended for the home game against Liverpool this Sunday.
Martinez will serve the final game of his three-match ban, earned after receiving a straight red card against Leeds United for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair. Just over 15 minutes after Shaw's departure, United saw their commanding 2-0 advantage against Brentford reduced to a single goal.
Having taken the lead through Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko on the stroke of half-time, Mathias Jensen whipped in an effort from 25 yards to silence Old Trafford. Nevertheless, the Reds managed to protect their advantage and move closer to securing a top-five finish.
United now sit 11 points clear of sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion and 12 ahead of Bournemouth in seventh. It was a pivotal result for Carrick's side, who have now accumulated 32 points from 14 games under the former Reds' midfielder.
Not that it was an easy win, with Brentford having created numerous opportunities, especially during the opening 45 minutes, but they consistently faltered when in front of goal. Igor Thiago, who has been so clinical for the Bees this campaign, hesitated with the goal at his mercy with one opportunity and slipped over as he was about to let loose with another.
This ultimately proved costly when Casemiro nodded home from close range following an intelligent set-piece routine from the Reds. Benjamin Sesko then capped off a counter-attack with a composed finish to extend the advantage. Jensen's clever strike set up a nervous conclusion, but it wasn't enough to prevent Carrick's team from edging closer to securing UEFA Champions League qualification.